#53 – Col. Hiram G. Berry

5102008

Report of Col. Hiram G. Berry, Fourth Maine Infantry

O.R.– SERIES I–VOLUME 2 [S# 2] — CHAPTER IX, pp. 420-421

HDQRS. FOURTH REGIMENT MAINE VOLUNTEERS,

Clermont, Va., July 26, 1861

SIR:: I have the honor to report to you my regiment now in quarters at this post. The engagement with the enemy on Sunday, and the long march incident thereto, have exhausted my men, and some time must necessarily elapse before the regiment will be fitted for active duties. As near as can be ascertained, the loss in killed in the engagement at Bull Run consists of two commissioned officers, Lieutenant Clark, of Company G (Wiscasset), and Lieutenant Burd, of Company F. Two commissioned officers wounded, Captain Bean and Lieutenant Huxford. Sergeant-Major Chapman killed; twenty-eight privates killed and thirty-three wounded.(*) This indeed has been an unfortunate affair for this regiment.

I herewith hand you report of wants for regiment, in accordance with order so to do. In doing so, I must beg leave to say that my men have no confidence whatever in the kind of arms with which we are now partially supplied. Had they been properly armed, the result of Sunday’s loss would have been somewhat different. It will take some time to bring the regiment up to that state of confidence in the managers of this war that it had prior to last Sunday’s affair. I mention these things for the reason that a commander should know all the facts material to the efficiency of his command.

Dulce bellum inexpertis

“I am sending you these little incidents as I hear them well authenticated. They form, to the friends of the parties, part of the history of the glorious 21st. More anon.”

About

Hello! I’m Harry Smeltzer and welcome to Bull Runnings, where you'll find my digital history project on the First Battle of Bull Run which is organized under the Bull Run Resources section. I'll also post my thoughts on the processes behind the project and commentary on the campaign, but pretty much all things Civil War are fair game. You'll only find musings on my “real job” or my personal life when they relate to this project. My mother always told me "never discuss politics or religion in mixed company”, and that's sound advice where current events are concerned.

The Project

This site is more than a blog. Bull Runnings also hosts digitized material pertaining to First Bull Run. In the Bull Run Resources link in the masthead and also listed below are links to Orders of Battle, After Action Reports, Official Correspondence, Biographical Sketches, Diaries, Letters, Memoirs, Newspaper Accounts and much, much more. Take some time to surf through the material. This is a work in process with no end in sight, so check back often!